This state's classification carries no date range for the species.
Distinct species from greater sage-grouse, found only in the Gunnison Basin of Colorado and adjacent Utah. Federally listed as threatened under the ESA since 2014; no Colorado hunting season. Not on CPW's regulated small-game-bird list. Found opportunistically during range research for greater sage-grouse/lesser prairie-chicken; included since a hunting-planning product's users could plausibly search for it and be confused with greater sage-grouse.
CPW (with Sisk-a-dee and the Gunnison Basin Sage-Grouse Strategic Committee) runs an active annual spring lek-count program dating to 1978, distinct from the greater sage-grouse program — the Gunnison Basin holds ~87% of the global population. Historical counts show real year-to-year swings (a 2019 low, a 2021–23 recovery to 805 high males on 83 leks / an estimated 3,220–3,950 birds). No discrete 2026 count, report, or press coverage was found this pass (checked 2026-08-19) despite a targeted search — cpw.state.co.us and siskadee.org were unreachable from this session (network egress block), and Gunnison Country Times' own site was likewise blocked, though its indexed article snippets showed no 2026 count content. No confirmed fixed publish window exists; monitor CPW's species page, Sisk-a-dee, and Gunnison Country Times for a 2026 edition.